Washington: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday condemned a video that apparently shows US Marines urinating on the corpses of Afghan men, footage that the Pentagon acknowledged did not appear to be fake.
Hillary said that she completely shared the views expressed by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta earlier on Thursday.
"I share completely the views expressed by (Defence) Secretary (Leon) Panetta earlier today. I join him in condemning the deplorable behaviour that is reflected in this video," Hillary said.
She further said that it is absolutely inconsistent with American values, with the standards of behaviour that US expect from its military personnel.
"It is absolutely inconsistent with American values, with the standards of behaviour that we expect from our military personnel," Hillary said.
The video that surfaced a day earlier appeared to show American forces urinating on the bodies of dead Taliban fighters. It could aggravate anti-American sentiment in Afghanistan as the Obama administration hopes to end a decade-long war.
The video, posted on YouTube and other websites, shows four men in camouflage Marine combat uniforms urinating on three corpses. One of them jokes: "Have a nice day, buddy." Another makes a lewd joke.
The video comes at a sensitive moment for the Obama administration, which is about to launch a flurry of diplomatic efforts it hopes will kindle peace negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban.
The video could aggravate anti-American sentiment in Afghanistan after a decade of a war that seen other cases of abuse. The US military has been prosecuting soldiers from the Army's 5th Stryker Brigade on charges of murdering unarmed Afghan civilians while deployed in 2010 in Kandahar province.
With Additional Inputs From Agencies
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